The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Ike Taylor in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft after he'd played two seasons of college ball at the University of Louisiana. He had only played his senior season at cornerback after he asked his head coach to move him from running back. He developed into a player that coaches Bill Cowher, Dick LeBeau, and Mike Tomlin trusted to go up against other teams' top receivers and not have to worry about it. Taylor needed some help along the way to become the island corner he would be. It started from the minute he got off the plane in Pittsburgh.
Five years earlier, the organization had drafted a defensive back, Deshea Townsend in the fourth round. As a veteran of the team's secondary at 28 years old, he found a creative way to endear himself to a player he could strongly relate to. Taylor recently joined host Kaleb Everhart on the Three Point Stance podcast presented by SteelerNation and talked about his first experience in his rookie year.
"My rookie year, the first thing Townsend did was give the keys to his Ford Exhibition," Taylor said. "I didn't even know him. He said, 'Go get lost. Don't get in trouble and figure your way around. I know you don't have a car right now. Take mine. Save your money and give it to me in the offseason.'"
Taylor said that every cornerback the team drafted that he deemed to be a late-round pick got the same hospitality he received from Townsend when he first arrived in Pittsburgh. However, the team didn't really have a late-round cornerback among their draft classes from 2004 to 2007.
Ricardo Colclough was taken in the second round in 2004, but spent the majority of his time as a kick returner and never started a game on defense. Bryant McFadden was a second-round selection in 2005. The team didn't take a defensive back until William Gay in the fifth round in 2007. He helped Gay financially when he agreed to pay the fines so his teammate could raise awareness for a cause dear to his heart.
Joe Burnett was taken in the fifth round in 2009 after taking Keenan Lewis in the third round. Burnett's perhaps finest moment with Pittsburgh came in the preseason against the Arizona Cardinals. He picked off former Steelers backup quarterback Brian St. Pierre and returned it to the Arizona three-yard line.
Burnett was released after one season in Pittsburgh. He spent some time on the reserve list for the New York Giants and then headed north to play in the Canadian Football League. He led the league in interceptions in his first season in 2012 with the Edmonton Elks. He also played with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, before ending his professional career with the Montreal Alouettes.
The Steelers drafted defensive back Cortez Allen in the fourth round in 2011. Terrence Fredrick was waived in the summer after being drafted in the seventh round in 2012. Then Terry Hawthorne, who also flamed out in Pittsburgh before Taylor retired in 2014.
Steelers' Ike Taylor Still Trying To Help Young Defensive Backs
Taylor said he's able to judge which guys are going to last and which guys aren't from his experience playing in Pittsburgh, a useful trait in his job as a scout for the team. When you look at the list of guys above, you hope he can help bring some better talent to the organization.
Taylor recently joined Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for an episode of PG Sports Now and detailed what his role is looking like now, as he was heading to Latrobe to meet with General Manager Omar Khan, Director of Pro Scouting Dan Colbert, and Tomlin to go over scouting priorities. He elaborated on getting into things after getting his feet wet in year one.
"Last year, they gave me opportunities to see what I could do," he told Batko. "They loved what I do. So, now this is my first official year."
Taylor said that during the season, his focus will be on finding guys in the college game that meet the criteria set out in the meeting rooms by the bosses. For now, he was happy to be in Latrobe and will surely be having a good look at the cornerback play in training camp.
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